PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Main Idea 8 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage has several paragraphs. The first paragraph introduces recycling, and the remaining paragraphs explain how recycling conserves energy, reduces landfill waste, and protects natural resources. Which of the following is most likely the main idea of the passage?
- Landfills are becoming too full in many cities.
- Recycling provides multiple important environmental benefits. (Correct answer)
- Energy conservation is the most important reason to recycle.
- Many communities have not yet started recycling programs.
Correct answer: Recycling provides multiple important environmental benefits.
The main idea covers what all the paragraphs share. Since every paragraph supports a different benefit of recycling, the main idea must be a broad statement that recycling is environmentally beneficial — not just one specific benefit.
Question 2: Which of the following is the best definition of the main idea of a passage?
- The first sentence of the first paragraph
- The most interesting fact mentioned by the author
- The central point the entire passage is written to communicate (Correct answer)
- A detail that appears in every paragraph of the passage
Correct answer: The central point the entire passage is written to communicate
The main idea is the central point or message the author wants to communicate across the whole passage. It is not necessarily the first sentence, the most interesting fact, or a repeated detail.
Question 3: A student reads a passage titled 'How Weather Affects Mood.' The passage describes studies showing that sunshine improves happiness, rainy days reduce energy, and extreme heat increases irritability. What is the main idea?
- Sunshine is the most powerful weather condition.
- Weather conditions can influence how people feel emotionally. (Correct answer)
- Scientists have conducted many studies about the human brain.
- People should move to sunnier climates to be happier.
Correct answer: Weather conditions can influence how people feel emotionally.
Each piece of evidence in the passage supports one central idea: weather affects mood. The other options are either too narrow (only one weather type), off-topic (brain studies), or an unsupported conclusion not stated in the passage.
Question 4: A student identifies the following sentence: 'Monarch butterflies can travel up to 3,000 miles during migration.' This sentence is most likely a —
- main idea, because it is a surprising fact
- main idea, because it comes from a science passage
- supporting detail, because it explains one specific fact about the topic (Correct answer)
- supporting detail, because it appears in the middle of the passage
Correct answer: supporting detail, because it explains one specific fact about the topic
A supporting detail provides specific information that backs up the main idea. A single statistic about one butterfly behavior is too narrow to be the main idea of a whole passage — it is evidence that supports a broader point.
Question 5: After reading a passage about the history of the Internet, a student wants to write a one-sentence summary. Which summary best captures the main idea?
- The Internet was invented in the 1960s by the United States military.
- Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1989.
- The Internet developed over several decades through the work of many scientists and organizations. (Correct answer)
- Many people today use the Internet for shopping and entertainment.
Correct answer: The Internet developed over several decades through the work of many scientists and organizations.
A summary of the main idea must cover the passage as a whole. Options A and B are specific details, and Option D is a present-day use that likely falls outside a history passage. Option C reflects the broad sweep of the entire history described.
Question 6: A reader notices that a passage about forests mentions trees, wildlife, clean water, and soil protection in separate paragraphs. No single sentence in the passage states the main idea directly. What should the reader do to determine the main idea?
- Choose the topic of the longest paragraph as the main idea
- Look up the author's other writing to find the main idea
- Ask what all the paragraphs have in common and form a general statement (Correct answer)
- Assume the main idea is stated in the title and do not read further
Correct answer: Ask what all the paragraphs have in common and form a general statement
When the main idea is implied rather than stated, the reader should look across all the paragraphs for a shared theme and then form a general statement that covers them all — in this case, something like 'forests provide many important benefits to the environment.'
PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Main Idea 8
A passage has several paragraphs.
The first paragraph introduces recycling, and the remaining paragraphs explain how recycling conserves energy, reduces landfill waste, and protects natural resources.
Which of the following is most likely the main idea of the passage?